Last weekend I spent a great time at a tiny, almost unknown diving spot in the forests of Southern Belgium: Villers-Deux-Eglises, a 50 inhabitant ‘forgotten village’, hidden in the middle of nowhere, featuring one single unique attraction: an abandoned marble quarry, now turned into a unique diving spot: http://www.carrierevillers.be/
[shots taken Sep 24: left: having fun with a wetsuit and a doll 
- enjoying a perfect steak, in the middle of nowhere]
While I just enjoyed the gourmet food and preferred to forgo the rather cold water, it is obvious that diving in Belgium has its
limitations: the English Channel is only suitable for very experienced divers, the former marble quarries and rivers/lakes are chilly-to-freezing cold during 8 months a year. When snow covers Belgium, diving outdoors is for the ‘really brave’ 
Fortunately, there is always Egypt: a +4 hour flight from Belgium drops you right in front of the most impressive coral reefs on this planet. Egypt’s Red Sea is a perfect diving spot, lined with 5* hotels.
A perfect country for diving, until increased security measures turned flying with diving gear into a nightmare. Long lists of “forbidden items” (like the batteries in one’s diving lamp), weight-limits, endless security checks, serious problems checking in needed diving gear: a diving vacation to Egypt has become a most annoying obstacle race.
I’m leaving for Egypt in October, but I have yet to decide to rent locally (expensive) or go through the trouble of “flying with diving gear”. Anyway, flying after 9/11 is no longer fun, and rest assured, it will not change in the foreseeable future. UPDATE 28 Sept. : from Nov 2006 EU outbound flights will have new restrictive carry-on luggage limitations (weight, size, content) to all destinations…
[right: the ancient quarry in English around 1930, courtesy Carriere de Villers, Southern Belgium]
This blog is not affiliated with or endorsed by the city of Antwerp, Belgium.
I hope you will have a pleasant flight
I definitely want to see some photos of the reefs here 
[Comment from the author: "Kristof, thanks for posting a comment. The availability of underwater shots depends on my buddy: if he doesn't bring a professional waterproof cam I can forget about coral reef shots. Most single-use 'underwater camera's" tend to fail after 3m. The weight allowance is also causing problems: the diving school has chosen the 'cheapest flight': I'm only entitled to 20 kg ckecked-in luggage. I guess I will have to rent most of my diving gear locally, which is always a security risk."]
Comment by kristof — September 26, 2006 @ 9:47 am